


Multi-Hero

by Sar61_Sanz6



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Guardian Marinette Dupain-Cheng, ML/DC Crossover, Magic, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug is Called MDC, Marinette opens a cafe, Marinette uses the Miraculous, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-28
Updated: 2020-06-02
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:20:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,765
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24414241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sar61_Sanz6/pseuds/Sar61_Sanz6
Summary: Hawkmoth has been defeated. Marinette is the new guardian and must take on her duty to restore balance. After finishing her training in the temple, she is sent to Gotham. The city of darkness and misfortune is in desperate need of cleansing, though there is a problem: the Batman hates magic in his city. Now on an undercover mission to help Gotham, Marie Fu-Lenoir must successfully restore balance to Gotham without the Bat clan figuring her out. No problem, right?
Comments: 58
Kudos: 708





	1. The Mission

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Gotham's Red Fox](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21064148) by [Runespour](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Runespour/pseuds/Runespour). 
  * Inspired by [A Little Birdy Told Me](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21602869) by [lizzycat40](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lizzycat40/pseuds/lizzycat40). 
  * Inspired by [Restricted Work] by [littlefleetinglight](https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlefleetinglight/pseuds/littlefleetinglight). Log in to view. 



Marinette was 19 years old when her life changed. In her teen years, she became a superhero, saved lives, was isolated from all her classmates, and defeated her supervillain. 

Once the threat against Paris was sent off to permanent prison, as guardian, she gathered all the miraculous and went to the temple, per their request. The painful and hardest part of that was finding out Chat Noir was Adrien. The blond model was livid when he found out she couldn’t reveal her identity to him, even after their promise to do so once the battle was over. His world was crushed when his father was revealed, sent away with Nathalie, and was forced to live with his Aunt and cousin, the Graham de Vanily’s. 

Marinette left her family, under the guise of moving to an elite university in China after she confronted them on their belief of Lila Rossi’s lies. Her parents retaliated, still believing their daughter was not the one they raised. Marinette said she wished to never see them again unless they understood the truth. They told her not to come home until she saw the error of her ways. She left that night without so much as a goodbye and moved into the temple. 

From there, the guardians of old welcomed and trained her. They were just as surprised as her Master Fu when they saw how many miraculous she could wear without losing her mind. The kwamis she had made friends with assisted as best they could, helping her mix modernized and ancient ways of the training. By her 19th birthday, she was a master guardian. Marinette held high respect from all guardians at her quick learning at such a young age. 

Because she was so gifted, the elders decided to appoint her to the most difficult mission they had. As guardians, their jobs were to both protect the miraculous and restore order and balance to the world wherever they are needed. 

After being gone for over a century, they had found many unbalanced places infected with misfortune and bad luck. The worst place on earth was none-other than Gotham City USA. The reports stated the misfortune had seeped into the land and people so bad, that the city itself radiated miasma. 

As Marinette was a Ladybug holder and a greatly powerful guardian, they assigned her to Gotham as her first mission once her training was mastered. 

Marinette arrived in Gotham under a new name, Marie Fu-Lenoir, in honor of her master and his true love. She quickly bought a small building on the borders of Crime Alley and got to work. 

Marie was careful with her cover story, it was the honest truth so the Bats watching over Gotham wouldn’t get suspicious. She used to live in Paris, her life became miserable around the end of college, she was practically disowned by her parents and she went off to a private school in China to get away from everything. After she graduated, she changed her name and moved to the one place on earth that didn’t care about one’s past, Gotham. It was the truth, as far the world knew. 

While she settled and worked on her home and business, she stumbled upon a no-kill shelter and found a retired K-9 police dog named Captain. He was a handsome german shepherd with dark black and red coloring and bright chocolate eyes. The poor soul had lost his human partner and fell into depression, making him slack in his work to the point the department gave up on him. 

Marie saw something in those lost eyes of his, a similar loss to what Marinette suffered through when she was left all alone. She made up her mind and adopted the canine, introducing him to all the kwamis of her Miracle Box when they reached her home. 

Once the boy got comfortable and trusted his new pack, Barkk and Trixx brought up giving their miraculous to Captain. While it was possible for a pet to wield a miraculous, there were complications, like a mutual understanding between the human and animal. However, the two canine kwami were quick to volunteer in educating and assisting the ex-police dog and Captain was soon fully aware of Marie’s duty. With Barkk translating Captain’s words to a human’s, the german shepherd became an official wielder of the Dog and Fox miraculous. 

The collar necklace was hidden behind an MDC original designed bandana, starting out red around the neck while fading to orange outwards with various canine paw prints embroidered on it, while the foxtail necklace charm hung proudly against his chest. 

Not long after, Marie opened a cafe on the bottom floor of her building: Tasse de Fortune. Since Gothamites seemed to run on caffeine, she figured they might appreciate one more cafe. While she still did commissions as MDC in her spare time, her main focus was to cleanse the people of their bad luck, in hopes of giving all of them a better chance in life. 

The cafe was painted red, which in China, symbolized good luck, and black, which seemed to be a favorite color of Gothamites. She made a menu with an assortment of pastries, mainly macaroons, and various coffees and teas. What her customers didn’t know was that everything made in her kitchen was enhanced with potions made to cleanse people, draw out good luck, or ward away misfortune. Her strongest potion, one meant to ensure a complete cleansing and a month’s worth of good luck, was reserved for her cafe special: the Cup of Fortune. It was a large, soup-bowl shaped ceramic mug with enough bitter espresso to cover the potion’s own bitter taste with the cup’s saucer decorated with a dozen macarons of the customers choosing. 

The floor was covered and finished with natural wood that matched the dark coloring of the walls. The booths were cushioned in black leather with white rectangular tables and the circular white tables filling in space had black metal chairs with red leather cushions. On the far right of the cafe, away from the cashier and display case, was a bookshelf and magazine racks with white reading chairs near the tall bay window. Which she had installed with one-way mirror glass for privacy sake of the customers. Not everyone in Gotham was comfortable reading near a window where a creepy passerby could see them. They just didn’t trust others enough for it. 

Marie opened on the first day with free macaroons to draw customers in and begin a massive cleansing. By the end of the month, the word was spreading of Tasse de Fortune and it’s irresistible macaroons. Especially the ones designed after the Bat clan members. Cops stopped by on their rounds, mainly because there was a rumor that any policeman that ate there would get an easy day or be lucky enough to catch drug traders and muggers without getting hurt. Surprisingly, it was true 90% of the time, safe those that got involved in gunpoint and hostage situations that had to call in backup. 

During the time when the cafe was open, Captain remained on the upper floors with the window curtains drawn to keep a lookout of the building’s surroundings with the kwamis. The windows were also the special one-sided mirror kind as Marie had to keep the Bats out, even if they weren’t on to her… yet. 

The second floor was her private mediation and massage therapy room, for customers she managed to convince to get a physical cleansing, as well as a small kitchen for making potions. The third floor served as her main living space with a bedroom, living room, kitchen and dining area, a guest room made for the kwamis, and a large study serving as her workspace for MDC commissions. As Jagged Stone and Clara Nightengale’s private designer, she could price her commissions high and keep her clients to an inner circle, making her famous even without revealing her identity. 

At night, Marie sometimes took Captain with her to give out lunches and macaroons to homeless people in her area, often going directly into Crime Alley, with the remaining kwamis staying guard of their home. She also took the time as a cover to pour cleansing potions on locations that radiated miasma and misfortune, making the most crime-ridden area less dangerous little by little. 

Marie also volunteered for homeless shelters as a chef, sneaking her potions whenever she could to cleanse the poor people reeking of bad luck. She gave out macaroons freely by the hundreds and slowly, some of the people found better lives and new jobs. 

When she wasn’t scheduled for volunteer work, she wielded the mouse miraculous and snuck into foster and orphan homes, weeding out the adults using children and teens. Captain activated the fox miraculous and cast an illusion of Marinette sleeping or meditating as her cover with him in disguise in his normal dog form. He was only to activate the dog miraculous in defense if someone ever broke in and saw past the illusion. Multimouse anonymously reported many of these toxic homes to police who saw their criminal organization involvement and drug trafficking, nailing them in jail, if not prison, and getting those kids out of their environments. New, kinder, and honest guardians took charge of the children and adolescents, setting them down paths to better futures. 

Marie often took teens with creative souls under her wing in the kitchen, getting them part-time work and encouraging them to follow their passions. Then, once they gained enough courage, she paid for their scholarships to schools specializing in their personal goals. Off they went in pursuit of their dreams, whether in Gotham or out of state. 

Now, Marie Fu-Lenoir is 22 years old. Three years of cleansing has done well in helping the people. But now it was time to confront the main problems of Gotham: the supervillains. 

  
  



	2. Arkham

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Glad a lot of people like this! Chapter two is uploaded! Please leave kudos and comments!

_“-in other news, another plan of The Riddler’s was foiled by the Batman, alongside Red Robin and Robin. No one was hurt, thankfully, but the damage to the Gotham Museum will take an estimated three to five months to repair. Gotham police-”_

The television was shut off by Plagg, who groaned and whined, “Ugh! This stuff is making me hungry! Bug! I need my camembert!” 

A laugh came from the large room down the hall, “We just had dinner, Plagg. You’ll live until breakfast.” 

“Bug~!” the black cat whined, “That isn’t until tomorrow!” 

“Oh, honestly!” Tikki scolded as Marie chuckled, “You need to seriously learn self-restraint!” 

Captain softly barked from his spot on the couch, agreeing with the red kwami over the black one. 

Barkk and Trixx giggled at Plagg’s betrayed gasp, “Captain! You heartless canine! We are of the animal kingdom! Surely you understand one’s hunger can never truly be satisfied!” 

Captain huffed and nodded off with his head resting on his paws, facing away from the tiny cat pitifully laying down on the coffee table. 

“How could you all?!” Plagg egged on as Tikki sighed and the canine kwamis laughed. 

“All right everyone,” Marie walked in, dressed in her seamstress outfit, a white top with a pink dress skirt littered in pockets, with measuring tape hanging from her neck and a pink pincushion on her wrist, “that’s enough. We’ve got work to do tonight.” 

Most got serious while Plagg softly whined before all the kwamis floated in front of her and Captain stood at attention. 

“Who do you want on duty with Captain tonight?” Trixx asked. 

“Actually,” Marie smiled, “I had a change in plans. I want Captain with me tonight to cover my back. Xuppu, Plagg, Wayzz, Nooroo, and Duusu will be watching the house while we break into Arkham Asylum. Barkk, you’re coming with us on camera duty.” 

Everyone blanked and Plagg snickered, “You’re getting bold Bug.” 

Marie shook her head, “I’m gunning for the biggest change to Gotham’s balance in years. For this, I need to go big or go home. And I need every avenue covered. Marie and Captain will be seen taking the night train to Metropolis. Once the train is out of Gotham’s borders, Red Hornet and Sheriff will be getting inside Arkham and cleansing Jack Napier.” 

Trixx whistled, “Going for the most famous supervillain on your first debut. You might end up with a bat on your tails though.” 

“Trust me,” Marie crossed her arms and huffed, “I know. But I think if he takes note of the fact ‘Joker’ will be ‘recovered’ from his madness, he may back off. That or he may become over paranoid. But as long as Captain’s illusion holds, we may not have to worry about him.” 

“And with the cameras going haywire,” Barkk added, “the Batman won’t be able to even get a clue to start a case on.” 

“You have the potion made right?” Tikki asked, getting on board. 

Marie nodded with a smile, “It’s been ready since yesterday.” 

A few minutes later, the four kwamis on guard duty came out of the miracle box and bid the guardian and dog farewell, and good luck as they left for the night train. They stopped by a dog park and avoiding cameras, Captain activated his fox miraculous, taking on his seemingly skin-tight orange costume with white paws, ear tips, tail end, muzzle, mask, and right shoulder cape that hid Barkk. 

Next, he made himself and Marie completely invisible while making duplicates that they followed to the train station. Marie and Sheriff took to the rooftop overlooking the glass dome covering the station and watched as their illusion selves took the back car with little light and deactivated cameras courtesy of Barkk. Once the train was out of view, they moved to an abandoned warehouse near Arkham and deactivated the transformation. Trixx recharged as Marie put on Pollen’s comb. 

“We’ve got less than five hours before the train back to Gotham arrives,” Marie reminded, “thanks to both of us being adults, Captain and I won’t be compromising our identities after our powers are used up. But we still need to be vigilant and cautious. Barkk, I’m counting on you to take out the cameras around Joker’s cell once we get there. Until then, Sheriff’s illusion should make us invisible and warp their thermal visions, as well as mess up any other security tracking they have. We get in, paralyze Joker, get this potion in him, cleans his soul, then get out.” 

The kwamis and Captain nodded, Tikki stating, “We’re with you, Marinette.” 

Marie smiled at the use of her old name before calling her transformation, “Pollen, buzz on!” 

In a yellow flash, Marie was in a darker version of Chloe’s costume, with black taking over a bit more on her arms and legs, and her stripes being straighter, thinner, and dark yellow. She then called, “Tikki, Pollen, unify!” 

Another flash later she became Red Hornet, her armor was thin and molded to her skin, showing on her shoulders, knees, and chest, with transparent wings on her back. The black stripes became dark red, almost brown in color, making the yellow ones stand out as they did on a red wasp. 

Sheriff was ready once more and he summoned his illusion of their invisibility with a howl. A few minutes later and the duo jumped over the fences, snuck behind workers signing in, and scaled the maze of the Asylum, Sheriff using his nose to track where the insane prisoners were kept. They followed a few psychiatrists to the more guarded and secured areas, being careful not to bump into anyone, and make it past the checkpoints before the doctors so they didn’t have to wait behind as the security ran the computers again. 

The heroine and canine made it to Joker’s cell, having to wait inside as the doctor spoke to the pale, green-haired patient in a straight jacket and the guard watched them. Once they were alone with the Joker, Red Hornet nodded to Barkk and the kwami zipped into the walls. Moments later, the cameras’ green lights went out, shutting them down as the door activated a private lockdown, keeping people from coming in and getting out. A risk, but one they needed. 

The clown criminal noticed the noise of the door then the cameras before he started chuckling, “I know you’re here~.” 

As Barkk reappeared next to Red Hornet, she nodded her head towards the door and Sheriff. The command for lookout was clear as Barkk fazed through the walls closer to the ceiling and Sheriff moved to stand between the door and Hornet, only needing to move his head a bit to see both her and the door on either side of him. 

“Oh~,” the clown laughed, “a mystery guy. The silent and inviable type. Not like Batsy, you don’t have shadows to hide in. What’s the trick? Some high tech fabric to see through you, or maybe it’s magic. Bats hate magic you know. Me? I love a good magic trick! Makes people smile more.” 

Red Hornet ignored his ramble and called for the bee’s power, “Venom.” 

The Joker tilted his head in confusion and Red Hornet threw her stinger square in Joker’s chest. The clown gasped as he froze, paralyzed with no way to move a muscle. He couldn’t see the person moving him to lay down flat on his back or opening his mouth wider. But he did taste and feel the vile liquid going down his throat, unable to even gag or shout as it went down. He felt fingers press into his neck and shoulders, making his body relax and the liquid went down easier into his stomach. 

Red Hornet nodded to herself as she drained the last of the potion, then lited her patient up and closed his mouth of yellow teeth. With less than three hours left and guards arguing outside the cell, she quickly returned Joker to his flat positon and hovered her hands over him. Finding the misfortune and miasma warping the clown’s soul, the guardian used her own aura to peel the dark green and black corruption layer by layer. She gathered the removed bits into a single sphere above the Joker’s head and soon started carving out the remaining roots seeping into the core of Jack Napier’s soul. 

In the Joker’s mind, the madness lessoned bit by bit as the dark bubbled overhead grew bigger. The voices and laughter in his head quieted to nothing. The desire for smiles and warped joy became irrelevant. Soon, guilt reappeared, shame for all he had done, the pain of the transformation, the burning of the toxins he fell into, the warped desire for joy and smiles and laughter all vanished. He could think clearly again. Like a fog was lifting or be was being dug out of a grave of madness. Jack’s head hurt and he felt noxious, but he could think right, feel right, hell, even hear right. As his sight got blurry and Jack became drowsy, he caught a glimpse of a small figure over him, a dark-haired woman in what he thought was brown and yellow. 

Red Hornet finally removed the last of the corruption and finished her cleansing. The man under her had slowly reverted back to his normal self as she got it all out. Now a peach skinned, long-nosed man with brown hair blinked drearily at her, the illusion slipping a bit as Sheriff became more guarded at the growing noise outside the room. 

She quickly stored the corruption and miasma sphere into her yoyo and patted Sheriff, signaling him to refocus on their cover. 

“W-Wait-” Red Hornet looking over at the man falling asleep, “I-I didn’t- don’t know…. Name...” 

The guardian hesitated, knowing she was invisible again, but answered, “Red Hornet. Sleep, Jack Napier, and become a new man.” 

The ex-crazy criminal clocked out after that, just as Barkk came back, “We’ve got big guns coming.” 

“Let them in,” Red Hornet instructed, “and be ready to knock out all checkpoints from here to the med bay windows. We’re getting out fast.” 

The kwami nodded and disappeared, Red Hornet got Sheriff on her back and braced themselves to the ceiling as the door reactivated and opened, guards and armed forces filing in. 

The first moment there was no one entering the room, Red Hornet slipped out and began running with Sheriff down the hall, seeing the checkpoint shut down with the door open as she got closer. 

“Hey! What’s going on with security?!” 

She almost wanted to apologize but thought better of it to keep herself safe. The same shut down happened at all checkpoints until they got to the med bay hall with the largest windows and opened one. Barkk quickly came out from the roof and hid in Sheriff’s cape again once they made their exit. Hornet and Sheriff jumped out of the building with bright lights pointed at their escape window and wandering the area around them, trying to get a glance at them as they rushed to the wall and jumped over it. 

Taking to the rooftops, Hornet and Sheriff ran to the train station, getting as far away from Arkham Asylum as fast as they could. They hid inside an old, crumbling apartment building and quickly recharged before moving to the station invisibly. An hour later, the train back from Metropolis arrived, taking a fifteen-minute stop. The costumed duo got on the dark car in the back with Barkk ensuring the cameras were still deactivated. Marie and Captain stepped off the train and walked back home as if nothing happened. Ignoring the sirens of the police cars racing to Arkham and the news trucks passing the streets. 

Marie and Captain got home safely and the kwamis quickly wanted details. 

“So how’d it go?!” Xuppu excitedly asked. 

“Did the potion work?” Wayzz questioned. 

“Oh~, Miss Mari has made her first major step in cleansing Gotham!” Duusu cooed. 

“Was anyone hurt?” Nooroo quietly looking over the two of them. 

“Well, what chaos did you cause? The streets got crazy all of a sudden!” Plagg demanded. 

Marie laughed a bit and called her Ladybug transformation, pulling out the dark sphere from her yoyo and handing it to Plagg. 

“The mission was successful,” Ladybug stated, standing proud in her more armored form with black covering her upper arms and thighs, “Plagg, I require your assistance with this corruption and miasma.” 

“Got you covered Bug!” Plagg smiled and gulped the baseball-sized sphere down in a few bites, burping once he was done, “Phew! Tingly going down.” 

Marie deactivated her transformation and headed for her kitchen. All the kwamis were going to need a snack during the tale of the cleaning of the Joker. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maybe some of you were expecting a fight, but Marie is in Gotham solely to cleanse people, not fight. To put simply, her fighting days were over after Hawkmoth was defeated and she doesn't want to go back to old times. 
> 
> Still, tell me what you think of Captain's hero suit and name! Fanart is appreciated, just send me a link in the comments!


	3. Customers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter uploaded! Leave comments, please!

_“-reports claim that all traces of the toxins within Joker, now Jack Napier, have vanished. As if they were never there. Though Mr. Napier claims he remembers all he did as Joker with great description. His promise to the public being, quote, ‘to work hard and do good for the people of Gotham I have terrorized over the years’. Security of Arkham Asylum can not get confirmation on how this miracle happened, but all agree it was a blessing in disguise of a break-in.”_

“Here, here to that!” a customer sitting in a booth facing the TV lifted a fist, “Joker may as well be gone for good! Hey, Marie!” 

“Yes, Mr. Allen?” the cafe owner answered as she gave an elderly woman her morning cup of coffee and a croissant. 

“I’m getting a Cup of Fortune today,” the man smiled widely, “it feels like a lucky day!” 

“Sure thing, sir,” Marie smiled, “your usual macaron selection?” 

“You know it!” Mr. Allen beamed. 

“Coming right up!” Marie waved and chuckled a bit. 

It was late morning in the cafe and the regulars comfortably had their favorites as the news announced the recovery of Jack Napier, the ex-Joker. New customers looked over the menu with more hope for their days as the reporters went on and on at the joyful news of Joker being no more. The cops that stopped by on their rounds all smiled brighter as one major fear was erased from their minds. All of Gotham seemed to breathe easier with Jack returning to his old self and making statements of changing himself. 

Then the broadcast mentioned Jack’s sighting of a woman before he passed out and they traded theories. One went about it being a new female hero or vigilante. Another got the idea of Jack being delusional from the toxins being either neutralized or eliminated from his body. Then it turned into ‘an angel sent from the heavens’ sort of theory and on they went trading possible and impossible theories with all of Gotham watching live. 

Marie’s main focus was on her happy customers that seemed less on guard around others. The readers relaxing by the windows, the businessmen and women looking hopeful, the moms and grandmas smiling a bit more, and all the signs of her plan working. With one of the largest threats, to Gotham’s happiness and good fortune, gone for good, the people were recovering better. 

The barista/baker served her orders with a large smile and wished her leaving patrons a good day. The happy mood of the cafe continued throughout the day and into the night, even with the Gothamites knowing night hours were dangerous, they seemed less scared. 

“Things sure are lively, huh Miss Fu-Lenoir?” Annabelle, Marie’s oldest teen employee, almost 17 years old, asked with a cheerful smile at the display case. 

The bluenette returned the brunette’s smile with her own as she trayed another order, “That’s the magic of good fortune, Anna. When something good happens, it’s warmth spreads like wildfire.” 

“Damn straight!” the youngest employee, a dirty blond 14-year-old named Bailey, fist-bumped the air as she finished filling macaroons. 

“Language, Bailey!” Marie scolded. 

“Sorry, Ma’am!” the young teen apologized and worked on the dishes piling up in the sink. 

This atmosphere continued for weeks. More and more people smiled and laughed, relieved of one danger, and feeling hopeful for their futures. The streets also seemed brighter as people stopped taking drugs and practically skipped along the sidewalks. The street kids and homeless were given less disgusted looks and offered food, clothing, and even job offers. The joy was contagious. 

As the sun set one night weeks later, Marie’s customers dwindled down to zero and she began closing shop for the day with a clean-up and a happy smile. Her employees all left for their foster homes happily with some of her oldest getting ‘extra’ lucky as college offers had popped up in their mail. 

The chime of her front door’s little bell signaled a late customer and she turned around to greet them with a smile, “Welcome to Tasse de Fortune, what can I do for you?” 

She looked over the man walking into her cafe, or rather, dragging himself, with a taller man glaring at him as he moved to a booth. The taller man looked towards her and erased his glare with a warm smile, “Hi! Sorry to stop by this late, but Timmy here plans to work all night,” he stuck a thumb to the young man about her age practically laying on the booth table, “and he needs caffeine. Despite my protests of the idea since he hasn’t slept at all in the last week.” 

The younger man, Timmy, grumbled into the table as the taller man sat across him. 

Marie smiled, “Of course. Might I recommend a Cup of Fortune? It’s the house special and stories say any who have it get good luck.” 

That was true as the rumors went but she honestly wanted Timmy to take the beverage because of the corrupt magic emanating with his tired aura. It oddly seemed like a twisted and perverted form of her Ladybug healing magic. No matter, her cleansing potion would fix that. 

Timmy gave a weak thumbs up while his companion smiled, “Sounds great! We’ll take two.” 

“Sure,” Marie pulled out her note pad, writing the order, “what kind of macaroons do you two want?” 

“Macaroons come with the order?” the more awake man gasped with a twinkle in his eyes. 

Marie chuckled, “Yes, a dozen for each of you. What flavors do you like?” 

“Caffeine.” came from Timmy while his friend gained a conflicted look, “Can you give me one each of the twelve bestsellers?” 

“You got it!” Marie beamed and walked off towards her kitchen, preparing the coffee and choosing the macaroons going with them. 

“Thank you for waiting!” Marie returned with the two large ceramic mugs that could pass as bowls with their large saucers decorated with colorful cookies. 

“For Timmy, we’ve got three matcha, three dark chocolate, three espresso, and three coffee bean macaroons,” she pointed out the four divided colors on his cup’s saucer in green, dark brown, light tan, and black. Then turned to the other’s and pointed out each flavor, “and for you, we’ve got apple, plum, blueberry, coffee cream, brownie, milk chocolate, honey, Batman, Robin, Red Robin, Red Hood, and Nightwing.” 

“Wait, what?” Timmy drowsily asked, coming out if his power nap and blinked at the last macaroons called out. 

“You have macaroons named after the vigilantes?” the older guy asked picking up the Nightwing macaron and seeing the bluebird symbol printed on the front. 

“Yeah,” Marie smiled, “they’re a big hit with some customers, though the flavors aren’t for everyone. For Nightwing, I went with blackberries for the macaroons and blueberries for the cream filling.” 

She then pointed at the Red Hood cookie, “For the Hood, I want with a dark chocolate brownie flavor with blood orange for the filling.” 

“Then for Red Robin,” Timmy seemed to perk up and Marie mentally noted that for later, “I decided on black cherries with black elderberry filling.” 

“Robin was harder,” Marie pointed out the macaron with a top red, bottom green, and yellow center, “and I settled for green apple and cranberry for the cookies with a lemon filling.” 

“Batman was surprisingly easy,” she picked up the completely grey macaron with a black filling and bat design, “I just used earl grey tea for the macaroons and a blackberry filling.” 

She put the macaroon back, “There are other heroes, but out of everyone those five are the most popular.” 

“Yeah,” the older man nodded with an oddly proud smile, “they do tend to be seen more often.” 

“Yeah, Dick,” Timmy looked oddly at his friend, Dick, and spoke through gritted teeth, “it’s almost like they want to be figured out.” 

Timmy took a large sip from his massive mug then put it down and looked at the dark, creamed beverage like he’d never seen coffee before. 

“Something wrong, Mr. Timmy?” Marie asked, concerned. 

“No,” Timmy waved a hand quickly, “no, it’s really good! I just feel more awake than I usually do with ten shots of expresso.” 

“Which you shouldn’t be drinking,” Dick commented and tested his Nightwing macaron, “but you do.” 

Timmy ignored Dick and smiled at Marie, “And please, just call me Tim. That nickname is usually for when Dick here tries to get on my nerves.” 

“Okay Tim,” Marie smiled, relieved, “and don’t worry, my Cup of Fortune recipe is a guaranteed wake up call.” 

“I can tell,” Tim took another bug gulp and munched on a coffee bean macaron, “how long have you been open? I can’t believe I didn’t find this place sooner.” 

“I’ve been in Gotham for about three years,” Marie said as Dick also tried the beverage, “I opened up a few months after I moved so, I’d say Tasse de Fortune has been open for roughly two and a half years? I haven’t exactly counted.” 

Tim let out a giggle, “So, the house special is the ‘Cup of Fortune’ and the cafe is french for ‘cup of fortune’? Was that coincidence or something else?” 

Marie laughed as Dick coughed a bit to clear his throat from inhaling another macaron while Tim said that. The owner replied, “Or something. When I realized how little Americans know of foreign languages, much less how little they use them, I named the house special after the house as a joke. I’ve been wondering how long it would take for someone to notice it!” 

Tim and Dick chuckled as Marie changed topics, “As for how you didn’t know about my little cafe before now, I have a question that may provide an answer.” 

Dick smiled, “Shoot.” 

“Do you two live or work in this area?” she asked, tilting her head a bit. 

“No,” Tim replied, “we’re just picking us some files for a… problem in our night jobs.” 

“Ah,” Marie nodded, closing her eyes, “that explains it. Judging by your attire, you live in the more wealthy parts of Gotham, yes?” 

“That’s right,” Dick nodded, “how did you know? I mean, we look normal.” 

Marie smirked, “Well, good sirs, people who live or work in these areas don’t often wear clothes that haven’t been well used unless their making an impression or getting ready for important events. Second, Gothamites around here don’t openly show off watches that look like they cost a small fortune,” Maire looked pointedly at their wristwatches, both silver and looked highly custom made, “else they want to be mugged. And third, we’re on the edge of Crime Alley,” Marie stressed the name while leaning down a bit, “so most people who don’t know of my cafe are often, if not always, from the wealthier ends of Gotham. Most of those locals tend to avoid this border like the plague.” 

Dick nervously chuckled while rubbing the back of his neck while Tim ducked his head and sighed, “In other words: it was obvious.” 

“Very,” Marie nodded and sweetly smiled, “but don’t worry. I just put it together because I tend to be more observant. Anyone else would have needed longer to figure it out.” 

Tim sighed, “That only helps a little bit.” 

Dick laughed and finished his order quickly as Tim gulped his down like it was his lifeblood. 

Once they were done, their phones vibrated and they opened them. Seeing their messages, they furrowed their eyebrows and got up. 

“Sorry, but we need to go,” Dick apologetically smiled, “how much do we owe you?” 

Marie gave the total than they handed her large bills, Tim saying, “Keep the change.” before they rushed out of her shop. 

“Well,” Marie smiled as she closed her shop and headed upstairs, “they were nice. Wonder if they’ll be back?” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so two Bats have found the cafe. 
> 
> What do you think of the macaron flavors? 
> 
> Tell me what you think down below!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for taking the time to read! Please leave kudos and don't forget to comment!


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